County backs agreement with agency for owners facing tax foreclosure

Lenawee County is to participate in a state program offering help to homeowners at risk of property tax foreclosure.

County commissioners voted Tuesday to support an agreement Treasurer Marilyn Woods signed with the Michigan Homeowner Assistance Nonprofit Housing Corp. The agency has a forgivable loan program for homeowners who have fallen behind on property taxes as well as on mortgage debt.

“Once you get behind it’s difficult to get caught back up,” said county administrator Martin Marshall. Penalties and fees for delinquent taxes are significant, he said.

Property is subject to foreclosure and auction sale when taxes go unpaid for three years.

Owners of 483 properties in Lenawee County were given notice of a foreclosure show cause hearing conducted Feb. 4 in circuit court, an increase of 87 from a year earlier.

Marshall said the increase was a surprise for officials expecting a downward trend to continue after 560 properties reached the point of receiving foreclosure notices in 2011.

The loan program through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority is designed to provide help without adding to a homeowner’s debt burden, Marshall said. The loans to pay off delinquent taxes can be forgiven over a five-year period if the owner stays in the home.

Property owners still have to be responsible, said ways and means committee chairman Ralph Tillotson, R-Adrian Twp. Owners have to maintain the property and stay current with tax bills going forward after receiving loan assistance.

Tillotson said he supports anything the county can do to help homeowners keep their property.